BADMINTON
Hsu, Lin lose Swiss final
Taiwan’s Hsu Ya-ching and Lin Wan-ching made it through to yesterday’s Yonex Swiss Open women’s doubles final in Basel, but lost 13-21, 21-16, 21-8 to Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayasari and Ribka Sugiarto in a match that lasted one hour, 21 minutes. In their semi-final on Saturday they trounced Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu 21-12, 21-13. Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen and Lin Chun-yi were to face off in the men’s singles final after press time last night.
TENNIS
Sabalenka exits Miami Open
Aryna Sabalenka, back on court for the second time in as many days following the apparent suicide of former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, had a difficult and emotional week come to an end on Saturday with a 6-4 1-6 6-1 loss to Anhelina Kalinina. After a gutsy second round win on Friday over good friend Paula Badosa, the world No. 2 appeared to have little left in the tank physically, mentally or emotionally for a late night Stadium court battle with Ukrainian Kalinina. When her return wide gave Kalinina the match, the 25-year-old Belarusian bowed her head, took a few steps then flew into a rage, venting her frustration by smashing her racket to pieces at center court. With racket destroyed, she then turned and walked off court without shaking the Ukrainian’s hand. “It’s always tough to play on big stages against these top players,” Kalinina said. “Today was really tough with nerves, but I managed in the tough moments to deal with it... So I’m a little bit proud of myself today.” The result and outburst were hardly a surprise. Sabalenka issued a brief statement on Wednesday saying her “heart was broken” by the “unthinkable tragedy,” but has otherwise remained out of the spotlight. The statement was also the first mention since the tragedy that the couple had split.
OLYMPICS
France battles mosquitoes
France is scrambling to make sure that virus-carrying tiger mosquitoes, a growing menace in Europe, do not spoil the Paris Olympics for athletes and fans, with millions of visitors due in the French capital for the summer Games. The Asian tiger mosquito has made its home in much of northern Europe, including France, over the past two decades, spreading diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika. Climate change is said to be behind its easy adaptation to colder climes, with authorities recently declaring Normandy in the northwest, the last remaining mosquito-free region in all of France, infested just like the rest of the country. Authorities have tried in vain to get rid of the insects, including by fumigating parts of Paris. However, with the start of the Paris Games only four months away, they are on the clock, with experts saying that a tiger mosquito bite could destroy an athlete’s chance of making it to the starting line. “When you are sick with dengue, you won’t be jumping over any hurdles,” said Didier Fontenille, an entomologist and expert on vector-borne diseases. Health authorities have promised “increased surveillance” of the mosquito threat, which has been notoriously difficult to eliminate. France reported 45 dengue cases last year, attributed to local virus transmission.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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